


it's snowing somewhere else

by graveExcitement (arachnids)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Frisk, Roleswap, Species Swap, nonbinary chara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-04-29 13:38:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5129651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arachnids/pseuds/graveExcitement
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two brothers have fallen into the Underground, and it'll take more than a healthy serving of determination for them to get out again. Luckily, a certain skeleton named Frisk is around to lend a helping hand. (Roleswap/Species Swap!AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. speak with such a screech

"H u m a n s ." 

The voice rasped out from behind them, and Papyrus froze, clutching Sans' hand. Toriel's words from not too long ago echoed in Sans' ears: 'They come. They leave. They die.' As much as he wished to flee the ominous voice, the bridge in front of them was blocked off by bars, and neither of them were thin enough to fit through the gaps. Maybe he could give Papyrus a boost over the bars? Then at least one of them could be safe...

"D o n ' t y o u t w o k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l ?"

He already knew Papyrus would never agree, though - Papyrus would never willingly leave Sans in jeopardy. That was why they were here in the first place.

"T u r n a r o u n d a n d s h a k e m y h a n d ."

Slowly, Papyrus turned, and Sans found himself turning as well, to face whatever monster had stalked them through the snow. The monster in question was shadowed, but Sans could see their hand held out to them. Was this a trap of some kind?

If so, he couldn't let his brother trigger it. He reached out and clasped the monster's hand...

...only to stare as their joined hands released a wheezing flatulence. Almost against his will, he snickered, and Papyrus groaned.

"JUST GREAT," Papyrus shouted. "SOMEONE ELSE WITH YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!"

The monster giggled and dropped their hand. "Whoopee cushion in the hand," they whispered. "It always lightens up the mood." Their smile flickered. "You two... you're human, right?" The two nodded. "You might want to be a little quieter, then. You don't want to attract my sibling's attention."

Sans raised an eyebrow. It would take more than monsters to quiet down Papyrus. "gotcha," he said. "who are you, exactly...?"

"Oh!" the monster said. "Sorry, I forgot that part. I'm Frisk. Frisk the skeleton."

They did appear to be a skeleton, Sans observed. The skeleton - Frisk - wore a large, striped sweater, paired with blue shorts and some ratty sneakers. They were small, only slightly taller than Sans himself. The strangest thing was their eyes - well, eyesockets. Their eyesockets seemed to be almost closed, a feat that should have been impossible for a skeleton.

"I'm a sentry here in Snowdin," Frisk continued quietly. "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But I... don't really care about capturing anybody. My sibling, though, jeez. You'd think they had some kind of personal vendetta..." They cocked their head, listening. "Actually, I think that's them coming now. They're the one that barred this bridge. Don't worry, though, I know a shortcut."

Frisk led the pair through their shortcut, which made Sans' head spin but resulted in the three of them walking out of the forest on the other side of the bridge. "Here," they whispered, "behind these lamps. Go on. And _be quiet._ "

Sans and Papyrus had just settled behind two conveniently placed (and shaped - one was just tall enough to hide Papyrus, while the other was more reasonably sized for Sans' frame) lamps when another skeleton came marching up the path. This skeleton, unlike Frisk, was suited in armor, and now that Sans realized it, the clanking of their armor had been faintly audible for some time. No wonder Frisk had been able to hear them coming.

The new skeleton came to a stop in front of Frisk, and Sans could definitely see some similarities. Their skull looked to be of similar shape to Frisk's. They were only slightly taller than Frisk, and even then that might just be the armor. Were the two twins? Their eyesockets were wide open, however, rather than Frisk's perpetually lidded eyesockets. 

"Sup, sib," Frisk whispered. They were so quiet, Sans could barely hear them.

The new skeleton scowled. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" That was another difference - unlike Frisk, their voice resounded through the forest. 

Frisk shrugged. "Bro and sis aren't right, gender-wise, and sibling doesn't give the same casual vibe."

"How about _my name_ , then?"

"All right. Chara. What brings you to my humble sentry station?"

One of Chara's eyesockets gleamed red. "To check in with you, of course. Seen any humans yet?"

"Nope."

Chara curled their hands into fists. "One of these days," they vowed, "a human will fall down here. And I will capture them. Then _I_ will be captain of the Royal Guard, and have the ear of King ASGORE when we ascend to the surface." There was a gleam of silver from their clenched right hand.

"I've never doubted you," said Frisk.

For the first time, Chara smiled. "Yes. You've been with me all the way, sibling," they said. "Even if you could stand to put some more effort into your own career, you've never failed to support mine." They stood there in peaceful silence for a minute, before Chara shook themself out of it. "Now, have you recalibrated your puzzles?"

"Didn't you walk past them on your way here?"

"Would it kill you to answer the question I asked?"

Frisk somehow managed to give off the impression of rolling their eyes despite having nearly-closed eyesockets. "Yes, O Mighty Chara. The puzzles are pristine. Completely ready for any theoretical humans."

"Good. Now, tell me again: what is the purpose of puzzles?"

'Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys,' Sans thought, remembering Toriel's words. Neither skeleton seemed to quite agree with the caring goat monster, though.

Frisk shrugged. "To make walking from place to place more difficult for everyone?"

"What? No! I can't believe... Okay, let me put it in a way even you can remember. We set puzzles to trap humans out in the open, so that when they get stuck trying to solve one, we can swoop down upon them and snatch their souls! Understand?"

Nod.

"Good. Maybe now you can put some backbone into your work, remembering what's at stake."

Frisk giggled.

"What?"

"You... you said put some... eheh, backbone into it. And we're skeletons. Get it? It's a pun!"

Chara growled. "I've had enough," they said. "Tell me when you are willing to take your work seriously." And with that, they stomped off, their armor clanking.

"All right," Frisk said, "you can come out now." The two humans obediently shuffled out from behind their respective lamps.

"THAT WAS YOUR SIBLING???" Papyrus asked, his volume just below a yell. Frisk winced, but the sound of armor clanking was only growing fainter. They nodded, and Papyrus grinned. "I CAN SEE IT!"

Frisk blinked. "Really? Most people say... that we're about as alike as night and day."

"YOU BOTH HAVE A CERTAIN DRIVE! IT'S ADMIRABLE!"

Sans looked up at his brother, then at Frisk. For a moment, looking into Frisk's nearly-but-not-quite-closed eyes, he almost thought he could see what Papyrus was talking about. A hidden resolve, less obvious than Chara's but no less present.

Then Frisk blinked again, their eyes lidded, and the resolve Sans thought he had seen was no longer visible. "That's kind," they said. "But you really should be glad I'm not much like them. If I was... well." They shook their head. "You'll want to get going. You'll need as much time as possible to work through my sibling's traps and puzzles. 'Cause if they catch you while you're trying to solve one..."

Sans could fill in the blanks, but Papyrus said, "TRULY, IT SOUNDS AS IF THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR PUZZLES! ONE THAT MIGHT EVEN MATCH MY OWN!"

"What?" Frisk looked taken aback; Sans sympathized. "Look, just... try and avoid them, okay? If you can make it out of Snowdin without running into them, you're in the clear. I'll try and help you when I can."

"why?" Sans asked, speaking up for the first time since Chara had left.

Frisk looked away. "Why? Well, my sibling's in charge of the Snowdin chapter of the Royal Guard, but once you get out of Snowdin you're out of their jurisdiction."

He shook his head. "why are you helping us?" he clarified. "if you're with them all the way..."

"BROTHER!" Papyrus yelped. "THAT'S RUDE! I'M INCREDIBLY SORRY, FRISK..." He tugged at Sans' arm, but Sans stood his ground.

"no," he said. "i want to know."

Frisk opened their eyesockets, looking impossibly tired. "With them all the way... those were their words," they said. "Not mine. I don't... want to see anyone get hurt. Including them, but... also including everyone who's not them." 

Slowly, Sans nodded. "thank you."

The skeleton closed their eyesockets again. "Thank me when you're out of here," they whispered.

"right. well. i guess we'll just... _skel_ -daddle!"

At first, Frisk stared. Then they laughed, and their ever-present grin seemed more genuine. "That was a good one," they said, and Sans grinned back.

Papyrus only groaned. "WE ARE LEAVING," he announced, 

"heh, guess you're right," Sans said. "after all, we can't _skull_ k around here forever."

The sound of Frisk's laughter followed him even as Papyrus marched him away, and he smiled. The skeleton had been creepy at first, and their relationship with their sibling was strange, but if they appreciated his puns that much, they were probably all right.

Toriel had liked his knock-knock jokes, and Frisk liked his puns. Maybe if it wasn't for the whole "being trapped underground with monsters who want to kill you" thing, he could have made it here as a comedian.

...If only. Unfortunately, staying with Toriel - the best audience he'd ever had - would have meant being trapped in the Ruins, and he refused to limit Papyrus' dreams that way. And Frisk - who was currently ascending to second-best audience - had the small problem of a sibling who was out for his and Papyrus' souls.

Save your dreams for the surface, he told himself.

The convenience of those lamps filled him with determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the greatest at finishing stuff: just warning you now. However, I do have lots of ideas... so we'll see where this goes.


	2. shivers down your spine

The puzzles they came across were... significantly harder than the ones in the Ruins. Or at least, some of them were; Sans had the feeling he could pick out which puzzles were authored by Frisk, just based on the lower difficulty. 

"IS THIS... JUST A CROSSWORD PUZZLE?" Papyrus asked, frowning faintly at the paper he held. "NO MATTER!" He pulled out a pencil and decisively wrote a 'Z' in every box. At the top, he scrawled, 'SNORE!' before placing the paper back on the ground. 

Despite Papyrus' perpetually loud volume, they had yet to run across Chara. They had encountered several dogs, all of which Papyrus had been eager to pet. At one point, Sans had heard the distant clanking of Chara's armor, but Frisk had shown up and directed the brothers to hide behind a pair of large doghouses while they persuaded their sibling that their patrolling efforts would be better spent elsewhere.

"They've noticed that several puzzles have been solved," Frisk told the brothers afterward. "I tried to convince them that it was probably just Snowdrake looking for a captive audience, but I don't think they bought it. You'd best hurry."

After the crossword puzzle, they came across a hunk of cheese, frozen to a table. Squeaks came from a hole in the nearby wall. Knowing that the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the cheese... it filled Sans with determination. 

The next area held a puzzle involving switches and Xs and Os that Sans couldn't make heads or tails of. Papyrus seemed to be slowly making headway, though, so Sans leaned against a tree and watched his brother work.

Idly he wondered: if this whole place was underground, how was it snowing right now? Were there somehow clouds down here? Was it just magic? He felt vaguely annoyed with the idea that magic was the explanation for everything down here. Of course, he had already seen magic with his own eyes - all the monsters seemed to wield it with ease in battle. And based off of the cleanliness of the stove top back in Toriel's house, she probably used her fire magic to cook as well as fight.

Still, personal magic was one thing. There were legends of human sorcerers as well - Sans had read of them eagerly, before... But that didn't explain the strange weather, or even the tree he was currently leaning against. Trees needed light to grow... but then, there was a muted light down here, wasn't there? Where did it come from? He squinted upwards, but the sky above was dark, empty of sun or moon or stars. 

He found himself sliding down to sit on the ground. The snow was cold, and he huddled into his hoodie, breathing on his hands to try and warm them up. Every so often, Papyrus let out exclamations of frustration or victory. The victorious shouts seemed to be getting more frequent, so Sans didn't feel too bad about not helping out his brother on this one. They'd probably be moving on soon, on to whatever puzzle or challenge awaited them next. He could close his eyes for the moment, though.

Just for a moment...

 _"But how does it all_ work? _" A frustrated voice._

_A softer, voice, uncertain: "I... I don't know. Magic?"_

_A scowl. A pause. Finally: "Then how does the_ magic _work?"_

"SANS!"

He jerked awake, heart thudding. In front of him was his brother's concerned face.

"what? oh, hey... you solved the puzzle. nice work, bro."

Papyrus nodded distractedly. "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU WOULD NEED SOME TIME TO REST! PERHAPS... A PIGGYBACK RIDE, TO SAVE YOUR ENERGY?"

Sans looked down. "that's, uh, a nice thought. but i think that nap was enough." It did sound nice, but he was honestly kind of embarrassed at falling asleep instead of helping Papyrus with the puzzle. He should be trying to help them get out of this mess instead of taking naps like he was still a little kid.

What had that dream even been about, anyways?

"ARE YOU SURE? THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS READY TO SERVE AS YOUR CHARIOT, BROTHER!"

Sans laughed. Maybe it would be okay... He looked up - whether to accept his brother's offer or laugh it off, he wasn't sure - only to see a figure in dark steel standing by the solved puzzle. His heart dropped into his stomach, and he inwardly cursed himself for forgetting that this place wasn't safe.

Apparently Chara could move quietly, when they wanted to.

"Two humans?" they said. "It must be my lucky day." 

Slowly, Papyrus turned around, shielding Sans as best he could. "YES!" he shouted, exuberantly, and only a touch nervously. "YOU ARE INDEED LUCKY TO MEET MY BROTHER AND I, FOR WE ARE THE BEST HUMANS WE KNOW!"

Sans peered around his brother. This time, the skeleton was wearing a helmet, but it was definitely Chara. Their armor proudly displayed an emblem: a bone crossed with a knife. He shivered a little, seeing it.

Realizing he was still slumped against the tree, he stood up. Chara seemed less than impressed with his brother's bravado. He almost wondered if Frisk would show up to help... but Frisk had advised them to avoid Chara, to not be caught by them. They probably wouldn't be able to help, now that he and Papyrus were actually facing their sibling.

"Today is a fateful day," Chara said. "You two are going to help me fulfill all of my hopes and dreams."

Papyrus and Sans' souls floated out from their bodies, a motion that was already becoming familiar to them both. The sight of their dual blue souls would almost be comforting, if it didn't signify the start of a battle.

"ARE YOU THE AUTHOR OF THIS PUZZLE?" Papyrus asked. "BECAUSE IT IS TRULY MAGNIFICENT!"

"Well, it trapped you here. So I guess I agree." And with that, they smiled... and threw a flurry of bones at the brothers' souls.

Sans tried his best to dodge the bone onslaught, but his soul was clipped by a few of the bones. Papyrus was even worse off - he was better at talking to monsters rather than dodging their attacks.

"AHAH... TRULY, YOU ARE A FORMIDABLE FOE! I MUST SAY -"

Chara cut him off, hurling another wave of bones at their souls. Sans fell into the rhythm of dodging, but Papyrus yelped, caught off guard, and was battered by bones as a result.

When the bone attack was over, Papyrus opened his mouth to chastise Chara for interrupting him. Sans shoved a Nice Cream bar into his hands instead. "you're low on health," he said, "and i don't think they want to listen anyways."

Papyrus frowned, but ate the Nice Cream. The wrapper offered him an illustration of a hug.

Chara wasted no time in attacking, this time swiping at the brothers' souls with a pair of large bones.

"YOU KNOW, INTERRUPTING PEOPLE IS RUDE! AND SO IS ATTACKING THEM! DO NOT FEAR, HOWEVER! I WILL FIND IT IN MY HEART TO FORGIVE YOU!"

Sans inwardly groaned. Papyrus should really be taking his turns to heal, not try and forgive their murderous opponent.

Papyrus' offer of forgiveness elicited no reaction - other than another bone attack, of course.

"AH, BUT I AM AFRAID THAT FORGIVENESS SHALL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER WE _STOP_ FIGHTING! BY THE WAY... HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOUR ARMOR IS REALLY COOL?"

This, of all things, seemed to take the skeleton aback. "Only Frisk... Thanks?" they said, before throwing yet more bones.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" Papyrus shouted cheerfully. He seemed to have completely disregarded the idea of healing.

 _'If he takes any more hits, I'm going to force-feed him the butterscotch pie,'_ Sans swore silently.

Papyrus continued, "NOW, BEFORE THIS BATTLE, YOU SAID WE WOULD HELP YOU WITH YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS..."

Another flurry of bones, but the pattern was growing familiar; even Papyrus managed not to get hit, and Sans dodged them with ease.

"...AND I KNOW JUST HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN! YOU SEE, I KNOW IT IS EVERYONE'S DREAM TO HAVE FRIENDS AS COOL AS MY BROTHER AND I!"

Chara attacked again, but their bones seemed to be moving... slower? Sans couldn't believe it. Was his brother really getting through to them?

"WELL, WE CAN MAKE THAT DREAM OF YOURS COME TRUE! YOU SEEM LIKE A GREAT PERSON, AND MY BROTHER AND I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR FRIENDS! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, SANS?"

Sans forced a smile. Making friends with a would-be-murderer wasn't exactly his idea of a good time, but... well, it would definitely be easier than _fighting_ them. "yeah, bro. friendship to the max."

A few bones flew towards them, but both brothers could easily move their souls out of the way. Sans felt hope stirring in him.

"WHAT DO YOU SAY?"

The skeleton lifted up the faceplate of their helmet, and looked at the brothers. A small smile crept onto their face. "Sure," they said. "Let's be friends."

Sans sighed in relief, while Papyrus grinned ear-to-ear. "GREAT!" he shouted. "I AM VERY GLAD -"

Then one of Chara's eyesockets flashed red, and twin knives struck twin souls.

The worst part wasn't even that Sans could feel his soul about to shatter, or that he could feel the knife like it had pierced his actual heart, or that Chara was striding forward to collect his soul, a cruel smile on their face.

The worst part was the stricken, betrayed look on his brother's face, before everything faded away.

...  
..  
.

Where he expected to hear nothing, he heard a deep voice.

_"Our fate rests upon you... My son, please... stay determined..."_

Sans felt a fire ignite within him, a burning sensation in his soul. Their story could not, would not end that way. He would not let his brother die to that monstrous skeleton.

He refused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Get.  
>  Knifed on.**


	3. shake and shudder in surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's been some [cool](http://waifujuju.tumblr.com/post/132429192740/im-really-digging-graveexcitements-roleswap) [fanart](http://leviticusarts.tumblr.com/post/133262684354/stuff-im-probably-never-going-to-finish-roleswap) inspired by this fic!

When Sans opened his eyes, he and Papyrus were standing by the table with the hunk of frozen cheese. His brother's heartbroken expression answered any question of whether Papyrus remembered their ill-fated battle with Chara.

"guess... not everyone wants to be friends," he said awkwardly.

Papyrus suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. "SANS, I'M SO SORRY. I TRUSTED THEM, AND THEY... THEY KILLED..." Sans could feel him shudder.

"it's all right, pap," he said. "i fell for it too. for a minute there, i really thought..."

Papyrus shook. "THEY KILLED _YOU_. TRULY, I AM... A TERRIBLE BROTHER." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"what? no!" Sans hugged Papyrus even tighter. "it's not your fault! if i hadn't decided taking a nap in the snow was a good idea..."

"IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT EITHER, SANS. I CAN HARDLY BLAME YOU FOR GETTING TIRED! ALTHOUGH..." He pulled back a little bit, looking Sans in the eye. "PLEASE DO TRY NOT TO FALL ASLEEP IN THE SNOW IN THE FUTURE. THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH! YOU WORRIED ME..."

Sans chuckled weakly. "yeah, uh, sorry about that."

Papyrus smiled. "IT'S ALL RIGHT. JUST, IF YOU FEEL SLEEPY, TELL ME! AND I WILL CARRY YOU WHILE YOU REST."

Sans reached up and brushed away some of the wetness on his brother's cheek. "you're the best brother i could ask for," he told him. "don't you ever believe otherwise." 

Papyrus smiled falteringly, before frowning. "...SANS. IF THEY KILLED US... HOW IS IT THAT WE ARE ALIVE NOW?"

"you know, i..." Sans hesitated. "i'm not quite sure."

He didn't know how to explain it to Papyrus, but he had felt something while he was dead. The will to keep living, the fierce desire to change fate - to change his brother's fate... had that feeling brought them back, somehow?

"we can figure it out once we're out of snowdin," he decided. "we probably shouldn't wait around any longer, though."

"LET US CONTINUE ONWARD, THEN!"

Sans smiled. His brother still seemed a little shaken, but determined to keep going forward. As long as Papyrus had hope, then Sans felt like everything would turn out all right.

"COME ALONG, SANS!" jerked him out of his reverie, and he hurried to catch up with Papyrus. He had just done so when Papyrus came to an abrupt halt, and Sans accidentally walked right into him.

"what's the hold up, bro?"

"THE PUZZLE! SOMEHOW IT'S BEEN... UNSOLVED???"

Sans stepped to the side to get a better look, and saw that Papyrus was right. The puzzle in question looked just as it had when the brothers had first encountered it. Furthermore, there was no trace of anyone having been there recently, human or skeleton.

"huh," he said. "papyrus, i think we might have... time-traveled?"

"LIKE ONE OF YOUR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES?"

"monsters and magic are real. no reason time travel can't be too."

"...I SUPPOSE NOT."

Sans grinned. Time travel was way cooler than magic, anyways. "let's just do the puzzle. should be easier, since you already figured it out."

Papyrus brightened up. "INDEED! THE MEMORY IS FRESH IN MY MIND! FOLLOW MY LEAD, BROTHER!"

Under Papyrus' lead, the brothers carefully solved the puzzle. It was only a few minutes before Papyrus decisively stepped on the switch that completed the puzzle, retracting the spikes that blocked the way. Papyrus gave a shout of victory; luckily, the only Royal Guards that heard were a pair of dogs. Rolling in the snow and petting the dogs appeased them easily enough, which was good, because rolling around and petting were Papyrus' natural reactions to dogs.

To Sans' relief, Chara was nowhere to be seen as they entered the next area. They did meet another dog, one who loved to be pet even more than all the other dogs they had encountered - to the extent that its neck grew longer and longer as Papyrus repeatedly attempted to pet it. Eventually, however, it was too tall even for Papyrus to reach, and he reluctantly bid the dog farewell. Sans almost wondered if Chara was the only member of the Royal Guard who _wasn't_ a dog.

As his brother examined the next puzzle, Sans looked around and was startled by a glimmer of light that seemed to come from a nearby tree. Inspecting it, he found a camera hidden in the branches. Well, that wasn't unnerving at all. Hopefully it didn't belong to Chara, because if it did, he wasn't sure how they were going to avoid being caught. He considered breaking it, but decided not to in case that set off alarms of some kind.

Before they had fallen underground, Sans would have never thought that he would have reason to be grateful for Papyrus' fondness for puzzles. Papyrus' passion was certainly paying off now, however; having fully grasped the mechanics of the Xs and Os, Papyrus (with Sans' help) was able to solve the puzzle faster than he had originally solved the previous one.

Even as they moved into the next area, Sans heard the distant clanking of armor. "we'd better hurry," he said, and Papyrus nodded, frowning. Luckily, the next puzzle proved to be a reprieve. The puzzle was in the shape of a skull - and judging by the closed eyesockets, Frisk's skull. Compared to Chara's puzzles, this one was a breeze.

After Frisk's skull puzzle, their luck ran out. They were in the middle of trying to solve the next of Chara's puzzles when a familiar voice rang out from behind them.

"Two humans?" said Chara. Sans' heart sank. "It must be my lucky day."

The brothers turned around to face their opponent. "KILLING PEOPLE ISN'T VERY NICE, YOU KNOW!" Papyrus admonished them.

Chara considered this. "If it makes you feel better," they said, "your deaths are going to make a lot of monsters very happy." They smiled. "Especially me."

Their souls floated out from their bodies. Time for another battle.

* * *

Why Sans wasted a turn 'checking' Chara, he wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was that he hadn't gotten hit yet, so there was no need to heal, and he didn't particularly feel like talking to them. 20 AT and 20 DEF - way more than any of the other monsters they'd fought thus far, with the single exception of Toriel. (In hindsight, Toriel must have been _really_ holding back, even before her attacks started avoiding them.)

He was getting good at dodging, if he did say so himself. But - he grimaced - Papyrus wasn't. In fact, his brother was spending most of his turns healing - but they were running out of healing items. Only a lonely Spider Donut left.

He almost wondered if now was the time to start fighting back. But... no. Chara might be a murderous, backstabbing skeleton, but they had a sibling who loved them, and hurting them would hurt Frisk, too. Besides, Papyrus wouldn't be able to bear hurting anybody. Even now he was trying to convince Chara that they didn't need to kill.

No, fighting Chara was right out. There had to be another way.

Maybe - he winced, not quite managing to dodge one of Chara's bone attacks in his distraction. He looked over to his brother. Papyrus looked worn and battered in a way that tore at his heart.

Papyrus opened his mouth, no doubt to continue to try and talk Chara into mercy (the non-pretend kind), but Sans stopped him. "wait," he said. "just - wait a minute, okay?" Papyrus nodded.

Chara wasn't going to show them any mercy, and Sans didn't want to see his brother die again. Really, it would be best if, as Frisk hoped, they never encountered Chara at all - but it was too late for that now... wasn't it?

Sans focused on the present. Another attack or two and his brother would die, and he _refused_ to let that happen again. He scowled just thinking about it. No, he wouldn't let that happen. This was not their fate.

The fires of determination welled up in his soul again, and Sans seized the feeling, concentrated on it. He saw Chara tense in preparation to launch another attack, but it didn't matter, because everything faded into darkness.

And then the darkness faded into a familiar room with a frozen block of cheese.

"SANS, WHAT...?" Papyrus blinked. "WHY ARE WE BACK HERE?"

Sans looked at the snowy ground. "they were about to... uh, win again. didn't want that happening."

"SO IT IS YOU WHO ARE TAKING US BACK IN TIME?"

"guess so." He shrugged, then looked up at Papyrus, an idea occurring to him. "hey, now that we know the answers to those puzzles, we can solve them again quicker than last time, keep ahead of chara. after all, their whole plan to trap us relies on our getting stuck on a puzzle... but if we know the solutions beforehand, they'll never have the opportunity to catch us, right?" He grinned, relieved to finally have a plan. It might take a few tries, but they would get out of this. He could feel it in his bones.

"THAT IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA, SANS! ONLY... YOU STILL HAVE NOT EXPLAINED HOW YOU TIME TRAVEL!"

Sans shrugged. "it's kind of hard to describe." He wasn't sure if he could explain how if he tried. He didn't have a time machine, like in some of the sci-fi books he'd read. No flux capacitors - just a gut feeling, a will to change fate.

"...VERY WELL. FORWARD, THEN!"

As the two made their way to the next puzzle, Sans contemplated his newfound power. A chill ran down his spine as a thought occurred to him:

Could this be the 'power to control this world' that Flowey had spoken of inheriting?


	4. sneak from their sarcophagus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. So. It's been... more than a few months. I've been dealing with depression-type things, and I've always had procrastination problems; thus, the months-long delay. But I've been getting back on track of late, and hope to be writing more regularly.

This time around, they sped through the puzzles with ease. Sans even convinced Papyrus to keep the petting of dogs to a minimum, to save time. They only slowed down when they reached the puzzle Chara had caught them in last time. It was a tricky array of Xs, Os, and buttons, all which had to be carefully navigated or they would have to reset the puzzle.

Papyrus had already made some headway on the puzzle last time, so they had a head start. Still, by the time they completed it, the clanking of Chara's armor was sounding too close for comfort.

"you know, bro," Sans said, studying the puzzle to fix it in his memory, "i bet we could do it faster."

Papyrus grinned. Sans reached inside himself again, focused on that burning feeling. When he opened his eyes, they stood once more in the room with the frozen block of cheese, ready to run the gauntlet again. This time, Chara was nowhere to be seen or heard as they expertly solved each puzzle.

The next room, to his surprise, held no puzzles whatsoever. Just one of the dogs from earlier, staring blankly into the snow and waiting for it to turn into art.

"wonder why there aren't any puzzles here?" Sans mused.

"PROBABLY BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE THIS DOG LIVES!" Papyrus pointed to a large doghouse just a little ways away.

"guess so. wouldn't put it past chara to put puzzles in someone's living space though."

The dog paid them no attention, but Sans was briefly worried about the other monster in the room. It appeared to be some kind of cow monster, wearing colorful clothing. Luckily, not only did it not seem to be intent on reporting to the Royal Guard, but it didn't even seem to know or care that they were human.

All she said was, "That dog considers itself an artist, but doesn't ever know what to create." She laughed. "It probably doesn't help that its brain is the size of a piece of kibble."

Sans looked over to the dog, which was staring intently into its cylinder of snow. Knowing that dog would never give up trying to make the perfect snowdog... it filled him with determination.

He was only a little surprised when his next revert brought them to the room with the snowdog. He was beginning to think that he was getting the hang of these time travel powers. This should have brought him excitement, or courage, or even relief - and yet -

Just after Papyrus had completed the puzzle in the next room, Sans had glanced back, for no reason he could name, and as a result he saw a glimpse of warm green and bright yellow, disappearing into the snowy ground. Flowey.

Papyrus had not seen, and Sans hurried after him, dread coiling in his mouth. The memory of Flowey's nightmarish rictus of a grin lingered in the back of his mind.

* * *

Several puzzles and one small dog in large armor later, Sans and Papyrus found themselves staring down a long, narrow stone path stretching across a chasm. It appeared to be the only way across, and Sans wasn't all that nervous considering his recent discovery of the impermanence of death, but Papyrus seemed apprehensive.

"Humans," said a voice from behind them - a familiar voice.

Papyrus jumped, startled, but Sans spun around, already grinning. "hey frisk," he said. “why couldn’t the skeleton lie?”

“I don’t know,” Frisk whispered. “Why?”

“because he couldn’t tell a fibula!”

Frisk snickered, but when they spoke they sounded uneasy. "I'm glad I got here in time," they whispered. "There's a booby trap in the middle of the path. You have to disarm it before you cross." They bent down and brushed some snow away from the base of a nearby tree, revealing a small brown switch, which they flipped.

Papyrus, meanwhile, was peering out at the stone bridge. "I DON'T SEE ANY TRAP," he said.

"It's hidden in the bridge," said Frisk.

He frowned. "THAT SEEMS... DISHONEST. I LIKED THE PUZZLES A LOT MORE."

They shrugged. "Anyways, Snowdin is up ahead," they said, quiet as ever. "Get through there and you're out of Chara's reach. But..." they hesitated. "I haven't seen my sibling in a while. I'm worried they may have gone back to town, for whatever reason."

"we'll try to avoid them?" Sans tried.

"That's good, but... it may not be good enough." They sighed. "If things go wrong and you do have to fight them, watch out for their **red magic**. It can be used to... break the normal rules of a FIGHT. Allows them to attack out of turn. So always be on your toes."

"WE WILL HEED YOUR WORDS," Papyrus declared.

Sans nodded solemnly, fighting to keep a straight face. He wanted to laugh - they'd already faced Chara twice, and Frisk was just now warning them... but of course Frisk had no idea, since this time around Chara hadn't laid eyes on them. Eyesockets?

Skeletons were confusing.

* * *

Snowdin was surprisingly small, and thankfully oblivious. Sans had drawn up his hood in an attempt at subtlety before remembering that he was travelling with his brother. Luckily, not a single townsperson seemed to recognize them as human, instead assuming they were tourists. The sight of such a friendly town filled Sans with determination.

Papyrus had wanted to stay at the inn, citing Sans' nap earlier that day. "nah," Sans had said, "i can sleep anywhere. but i'll sleep a lot better knowing we're safe from chara." Papyrus had, reluctantly, agreed, and so they had moved on - though not before buying several bisicles and cinnamon buns.

Strangest had been a conversation with a small yellow monster wearing a striped shirt.

"Yo!" the monster called out to Sans. "Are you a kid?"

Sans nodded.

"Oh, cool! I thought you might be, but you're not wearing a striped shirt, so I couldn't tell." The monster kid frowned, briefly. "Some monsters are weird about that though. One of those two skeleton siblings, they wear a striped shirt, but I'm pretty sure they're a grown-up! And now you're not wearing stripes, but you say you're a kid!"

"my brother and i, we're tourists," said Sans. "kids don't always wear striped shirts where we're from."

"Whoa, cool! Are you from the capital?"

"...yes."

"That's so cool! Have fun in Snowdin!"

"sure thing," said Sans.

* * *

Sans' interest was drawn in particular to the "librarby." He peeked inside first, to check that Chara wasn't lurking there, before strolling in and up to the front desk. "so," he said, grinning, "if this is the librarby, does that make you the librarbrian?"

The librarian groaned. Papyrus scolded Sans. Par for the course.

Sans ventured further into the library. Behind him, Papyrus approached three monsters sitting at a table. The table was covered with papers which on closer inspection were crosswords, word searches, and comics.

"That look in your eye," one of the monsters said to Papyrus. "You're someone who has trouble doing crosswords, aren't you?"

Sans tuned out the conversation in favor of browsing the shelves, selecting volumes that looked interesting and flipping through them to see if they held anything useful, or cool. One book rewarded him with,

_"While monsters are mostly made of magic, human beings are mostly made of water. Humans, with their physical forms, are far stronger than us. But they will never experience the joy of expressing themselves through magic. They'll never get a bullet-pattern birthday card."_

Sans frowned. That was... disappointing, if informative.

He went back to flipping through books. Another volume read, _"Love, hope, compassion... This is what people say monster SOULs are made of. But the absolute nature of "SOUL" is unknown. After all, humans have proven their SOULs don't need these things to exist."_

Slowly, Sans closed the book and slipped it back on the shelf. He felt cold. "hey, bro," he said. "we should probably go, yeah?"

Papyrus looked up from his conversation with the monster ladies about puzzles. "CERTAINLY, BROTHER!" He turned back to the monsters. "IT WAS VERY NICE SPEAKING WITH YOU!"

As they left, Sans couldn’t help but think that whoever wrote that book ought to meet Chara.

* * *

Near the edge of town they came across a house with two mailboxes standing next to it. One was labelled "Frisk," the other "Chara." The brothers traded looks.

"if chara's in snowdin, they're in there," Sans whispered. "so let's just... walk past. calmly. without looking in any windows, or making any noise."

Papyrus opened his mouth to agree, thought better of it, and nodded sheepishly.

"cool," whispered Sans. "we just gotta be casual."

They casually strolled past Chara's house, past the shed, and into the forest ahead. Sans kept expecting to hear heavy footsteps behind them, snow crunching underneath armor. He expected the clanking sound of Chara in pursuit. He resisted the temptation to look back. That wouldn't be very casual.

The snowfall ahead of them was thickening considerably, to the point where he could more or less only see Papyrus beside him. They soldiered on. Papyrus wrapped his bright red scarf tight around his neck. Sans shoved his hands in his sleeves, grateful for his trusty blue jacket.

His legs were freezing, but he took a step, and then another step. He felt more cold than he'd ever been in his life, but Papyrus was with him. It would be all right. He took a step, and stopped.

A dark figure stood before them, blocking the path. Through the heavy snowfall Sans could barely see their silhouette, but he had a feeling he knew who it was. Papyrus had stopped beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him close.

The figure stepped forward, snow crunching beneath their feet. They stepped closer still, close enough to confirm their identity. Chara.

"GREETINGS!" Papyrus shouted. "MY BROTHER AND I, WE ARE... TOURISTS! VERY DEFINITELY TOURISTS. WE LOVE TO TRAVEL. WE JUST FINISHED VISITING SNOWDIN. IT IS A LOVELY TOWN! DO YOU LIVE HERE? WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

Silence.

"IT WAS WONDERFUL TO VISIT SNOWDIN, BUT WE DO HAVE TO MOVE ON! WE ARE HEADED TOWARDS THE CAPITAL. YES, THAT IS OUR FINAL DESTINATION. HOME!"

 _nailed it_ , thought Sans.

"Ha. Ha," said Chara. "Nice try. But you're not tourists. You're humans." They paused. "I wasn't expecting two of you. It must be my lucky day."

"TECHNICALLY," said Papyrus, "WE ARE TRAVELERS, AND WE ARE TOURING THE UNDERGROUND, AND SNOWDIN IS LOVELY, AND WE ARE TRYING TO GET HOME. I DID NOT LIE."

"I am curious," they said, "how you got past the trap on the stone bridge."

"ABOUT THAT." He hesitated. "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT HIDDEN TRAPS ARE INCREDIBLY RUDE? TRAPS OUGHT TO BE OUT IN THE OPEN, LIKE PUZZLES!"

"Don't answer, then. That's fine. It won't matter once I've taken your souls." A bone materialized in their hand. "Since you asked... I am Chara."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you call Papyrus while on the "rope bridge," he'll say, "THIS BRIDGE IS DANGEROUS, BUT IT'S VERY STABLE. IN FACT, IT'S JUST A ROCK FORMATION I PAINTED OVER. I THINK IT LOOKS MORE DRAMATIC THAT WAY."  
> "I ADDED THE ROPE, TOO."


	5. shrieking skulls will shock your soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter on my birthday, as a gift to both me and you!

Sans had been hoping. Hoping that with his rudimentary manipulation of time, they could escape this snowy cave without Chara killing them again. But that hope was worth nothing. Chara stood before them, and he didn't think they could avoid this fight any longer.

"I DID LIKE YOUR OTHER PUZZLES, YOU KNOW," Papyrus informed Chara. "SOME OF THEM WERE QUITE CHALLENGING!"

"Really?" they asked. "You seemed to solve them quickly enough." They sent out a wave of bones, which Sans dodged; a bone clipped Papyrus.

"WELL!" He grinned, nervously. "THAT IS. THEY WERE CHALLENGING IN COMPARISON TO OTHER PUZZLES I'VE SOLVED. I AM A PUZZLE-MASTER EXTRAORDINAIRE!"

"Is that so?" They seemed less than impressed.

Papyrus was not particularly good at lying; this Sans knew well. Boasting, on the other hand, his brother had no problem with, perhaps because he did not perceive himself to be speaking falsely.

"IT IS INDEED! YOU SHOULD BE FLATTERED THAT A PUZZLE CONNOISSEUR SUCH AS MYSELF FOUND YOUR PUZZLES SO STIMULATING!"

"They did not stop you from making it this far," they said flatly. "Or even noticeably slow you down. Useless." Another series of bones.

Papyrus, once the onslaught had passed, faltered. "IS THAT ALL YOU THINK PUZZLES ARE GOOD FOR?" he asked, quieter than before. "TRAPPING PEOPLE?"

"Trapping _humans_ ," Chara corrected. "Like you."

Papyrus looked crestfallen. "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MENTAL EXERTION? THE CHALLENGE? THE FUN?"

Personally, Sans hadn't found many of the puzzles in the snowy woods _fun_ , being rather focused on trying to escape the very skeleton they were now fighting. But Papyrus held a certain affection for puzzles of all kinds.

Chara stared at him. "Their purpose was to stop you. They didn't." Then they smiled. "But I knew any human would be headed this way, and all I had to do was get here first. And I was right." With a wave of their hand, they sent out a flurry of bones.

"how did you know," Sans challenged, "that we would come here?"

It was hard to tell, but he thought Chara sneered. "So you do speak," they said. "You're humans. You're headed for the Barrier. For the capital. And this is the only way through."

Sans' heart sank. It wouldn't matter, then, if he turned back time. This fight was unavoidable. They had no choice but figure out how to get through it.

"THE BARRIER?" Papyrus parroted.

"The seal that keeps us trapped down here. Don't pretend you don't know."

"BUT I DON'T?"

"Really? Well, here's a lesson - " Their eye flashed red, and Sans dived out of the way, yelling for Papyrus to dodge as he did so.

The knife struck Papyrus' soul, bringing him down to only 2 HP.

"THAT," he panted, "WAS NOT KIND."

"I don't intend to be." Their next attack ignored Sans entirely, focusing on battering Papyrus' soul with bones. He couldn't dodge them all.

Sans saw his brother's soul begin to fracture and, determined, he tore them away from that future, leaving the brothers back in Snowdin, in front of the store.

"WHY DON'T WE REST AT THE INN, THIS TIME AROUND," Papyrus finally suggested. Sans nodded.

* * *

The bed was somewhat cramped, but it was nothing they weren't used to; they had shared a single bed in Toriel's house, after all. Neither of them could sleep. The snoring echoing through the walls was a factor; Sans usually prided himself on being able to sleep through anything, but now he could only lie awake, listening to the snoring and thinking over everything that'd happened.

He could tell Papyrus wasn't sleeping either; whether it was due to the snoring or Papyrus' own thoughts, he couldn't tell. They laid there for some minutes, staring up at the dark ceiling, before Sans finally broke the silence.

"i keep thinking about what flowey said."

* * *

_"But what will you do when you meet a relentless killer?" asked the monstrous flower, grinning all the while. "You'll die and you'll die and you'll die... until you tire of trying. What will you do then?" His grin, impossibly, grew even wider than before. " **Will you kill out of frustration?** "_

_"NEVER!" Papyrus shouted._

_"Or will you give up entirely on this world, and let ME inherit the power to control it?"_

_"not a chance," Sans vowed._

_"Oh?" Flowey snickered. "I am the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, my little monarchs, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting." Then he laughed, a laugh which made Papyrus shrink back and Sans curl his hands into fists, before disappearing into the earth._

* * *

"DO YOU THINK HE WAS TALKING ABOUT CHARA?" Papyrus asked quietly.

"dunno, but they definitely fit the bill."

"YEAH." Papyrus frowned. Then he turned to face Sans. "BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE WAS RIGHT," he said, and his voice held conviction. "WE WON'T KILL ANYONE. AND WE WON'T GIVE UP, EITHER. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. SOMEHOW."

Sans smiled. "yeah, bro. we will." His brother always knew how to make him feel better. Then he remembered something else, and felt uneasy again. "speaking of flowey," he said. "on our way to snowdin, i think i saw him? it was just for a moment. he disappeared into the ground right after. if it was him, i mean."

"WHAT? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?"

"i dunno, i didn't want to distract you. wasn't sure if i was just seeing things."

"HE IS VERY UNFRIENDLY," said Papyrus, master of understatement, "AND HE DOES SEEM TO LIKE SNEAKING UP ON US. I THINK YOU PROBABLY DID SEE HIM."

"oh. well. that's... not a comforting thought. we'll have to watch our backs, i guess."

"EVEN IF HE DOES SURPRISE US, YOU CAN TAKE US BACK," he pointed out.

"right, yeah. still."

"STILL." Papyrus was quiet for a moment. "THIS DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING. I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHY CHARA WANTS TO KILL US SO MUCH. THEN... THEN I CAN CONVINCE THEM NOT TO!"

If anyone could do it, it was Papyrus. "i believe in you," Sans said, closing his eyes.

"I JUST HAVE TO UNDERSTAND..."

* * *

Sans didn't manage to sleep for long, but he still felt better afterwards. They made sure their pockets were completely filled with healing foods from the store, and Papyrus bought Sans a "manly bandanna," which supposedly aided in defense. There was a brief argument over who should wear the bandanna - Papyrus arguing that Sans was smaller and more fragile, Sans arguing that Papyrus was worse at dodging and took more hits - before Sans finally gave in and wore the bandanna.

Before they left once more, Sans took in the sight of the friendly town and focused on the feeling of determination. They would get through this. They _would_.

When they reached Chara, Sans tensed up, ready to fight. Papyrus, however, called out, "GREETINGS! MIGHT I KNOW YOUR NAME, STRANGER?"

"It's Chara," they said. "Don't bother telling me yours. You're human; I don't care to know it. I only want your souls." A pair of bones appeared in their clenched fists, and the brothers' souls floated out from their bodies.

"OKAY," said Papyrus. "WHY IS IT THAT YOU WANT OUR SOULS, EXACTLY?"

They grinned. "To fulfill my hopes and dreams." And the battle began anew.

"QUESTION. IS THERE A WAY WE COULD HELP YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE WITHOUT YOU KILLING US?"

"Can't think of one," they said, grinning. "You see -" there was a flash of red, and this time both Sans and Papyrus avoided the knives. They scowled and continued: "Your souls themselves are an essential component. Without them, it simply wouldn't work."

"what about our dreams?" asked Sans. "shouldn't they matter as much as yours?"

"My dreams are the dreams of all monsterkind. Needs of the many, et cetera. But even if that weren't true, you're human. Preventing your dreams from coming true is a service."

Papyrus elected to ignore this. "WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS, THEN?"

"What does any monster dream of? To be free. To see the sun."

"WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN FOR TOO LONG, OR THE LIGHT WILL HURT YOUR EYES!"

Chara stared at him for a long moment. "Thanks for the advice," they said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" he replied, dodging the swipe of an excessively large bone.

"and you're trapped down here because of this... barrier, right?" asked Sans.

"That's correct."

"ok," he said, ducking under their next attack, "but what is it, exactly? how does it work?"

"The barrier," Chara said, "is a magical seal - " A flash of red, and they attacked mid-sentence. Both brothers evaded once more. "Anything can enter through it, but no one can exit... unless they possess a powerful soul." They grinned. "Like yours."

"AH..." Papyrus winced. "SO, YOU WANT OUR SOULS BECAUSE..."

"The king wants to open the barrier with soul power. Then, we will be free to return to the surface, to lands that are rightfully ours."

Their next attack held a flurry of bones, battering the brothers, who each consumed half a bisicle rather than respond.

"So you see," Chara continued, "you ought to give up now. Yield your souls to me, and monsterkind will be free. Refuse, and you stand in the way of our hopes and dreams."

"NO!" Papyrus said, dodging the swipe of a knife. "I SYMPATHIZE WITH YOUR PLIGHT, BUT THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY! A WAY TO FREE EVERYONE WITHOUT VIOLENCE."

"Ha. You have a lot to learn about this world."

"PERHAPS SO! BUT IT WOULD BE FOOLISH TO PRESUME YOU KNOW EVERYTHING YOURSELF!" 

"I know enough," said Chara, striking at Papyrus with both knives. Papyrus' HP sank, along with Sans' heart. If Chara was focusing all of their efforts on his brother again, they were getting serious about killing him.

"c'mon, bro, eat a nice cream bar," he said; the instant Papyrus had polished off the bar, Chara attacked again, bones from every direction.

"COME ON!" Papyrus complained. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME TIME TO READ THE COMPLIMENT ON THE STICK!"

"How unfortunate," said Chara, dry as a desert.

They struck the killing blow only a few rounds later, and Sans rewound time.

* * *

"ALL RIGHT," said Papyrus. "THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM!"

"yeah, bro. but if we don't get it this time, that's okay too. we have all the time in the world."

"YEAH! AND WITH EVERY BATTLE, WE LEARN MORE ABOUT CHARA. THAT WILL HELP US FIGURE OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO CONVINCE THEM TO BE MERCIFUL!"

They ventured out into the snow to face Chara once more.

Sans honestly wasn't sure if Papyrus was asking Chara's name again because he didn't want to give away that he already knew it, or just out of sheer politeness. It could be either.

"I am Chara," they said. "Don't bother telling me yours. You're human; I don't care to know it. I only want your souls."

"ISN'T THERE A WAY FOR US TO HELP YOU? TO HELP MONSTERS, WITHOUT YOU TAKING OUR SOULS?"

"Don't you know that's been tried already?" They flung a knife, which Papyrus dodged. "There is no other way."

"IF WE JUST STOPPED FIGHTING AND TALKED, WE COULD FIGURE SOMETHING OUT! YOU'LL NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU TRY!"

"Why bother? Killing you is justice, anyways, after all the monsters humankind has turned to dust."

"my brother wouldn't hurt a fly," Sans said, "and i haven't hurt any monsters either. you can't call that 'justice.'"

"Maybe not yet. It's only a matter of time." A red eye flashed, and both brothers ducked the ensuing bones. They continued, "After all, you'll have to fight back at some point. Unless you intend on surrendering your souls to me willingly?"

"NO," said Papyrus, firm. "WE WILL NOT DO EITHER OF THOSE THINGS."

"You can't dodge forever."

( _ha_ , thought Sans. _shows what they know._ )

"I DON'T SEE WHY NOT!"

"Sooner or later, you will fight back. Or you will die."

"OR," said Papyrus, "WE WILL RESOLVE THIS CONFLICT PEACEFULLY, WITHOUT FURTHER VIOLENCE!"

"That's not going to happen." They sent out a wave of knives, as if to punctuate this statement.

"CHARA," he said, once the attacks had passed. "I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE A VERY DRIVEN INDIVIDUAL. YOU ARE DETERMINED, AND I ADMIRE YOU! IF WE ONLY WORKED TOGETHER, THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT WE COULD ACCOMPLISH!"

"plus, we could always go back to fighting after, if it doesn't work out," Sans added.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you? In this world, it's _kill_ or _be killed_." As they spoke, they launched twin blades; neither brother dodged until it was too late.

"actually," Sans panted, still aching from the blow his soul had just taken, "yes. a flower told us that exact phrase once. then he tried to kill us."

"HE WAS VERY MEAN!"

"A flower?" said Chara, voice carefully even.

"yep. said his name was flowey. he tried to take our souls, too. we were 'an opportunity too good to pass up,' apparently." He raised an eyebrow; Chara had yet to attack, and somehow he thought they weren't just lulling them into a false sense of complacency. Not this time. "you know him?"

Chara was silent for a long minute. "I," they finally said, "am going to _uproot_ that lying, treacherous little _weed_."

"gonna take that as a yes."

"Shut up," they snapped. They stood there and glared for a moment, before speaking once more. "Where did you meet him? I'll know if you lie, so don't try it."

"IT WAS RIGHT AFTER WE FELL INTO THE UNDERGROUND," said Papyrus.

"right," said Sans, "and then he popped up again as we were leaving the ruins. and..." He hesitated.

"And what?" Chara stepped towards him, looming.

"and i spotted him once on our way to snowdin," he admitted. "at least i think i did. he kinda vanished into the ground, so..."

"Hmm." They surveyed the brothers, considering. "Don't think I'm done with you yet," they said. "I have a certain flower to find. But I'll be back." They strode past the brothers and towards Snowdin, slowly fading out of sight. The snow and wind seemed to calm down, and the cold no longer felt as biting as it did before.

"well," said Sans, "i guess that's that."

Papyrus swept Sans up in a hug, spinning around in joy. "WE DID IT, SANS!" He came to a stop. "THOUGH I AM NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHAT IT IS WE DID THAT MADE THEM DECIDE TO STOP FIGHTING."

Sans shrugged, or tried to. "sounds like they've got some beef with flowey."

"I SUPPOSE SO." He looked pensive for a moment longer, then grinned. "WELL!! BEST NOT TO LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH! WE MUST CARRY ONWARD!"

"sounds good to me," said Sans, "but you'll have to put me down first."

"OH, RIGHT." He set Sans back down on his feet. "SHALL WE?"

Sans nodded, and they set off. As they walked, something occurred to him. "didn't frisk say that once we were out of snowdin, we were out of chara's jurisdiction? out of their reach?"

"HMM, YES, THAT DOES SOUND FAMILIAR. BUT SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT THEY WON'T LET THAT STOP THEM, IF THEY DECIDE TO COME AFTER US AGAIN."

"yeah, probably not." He frowned.

"BUT! IF THEY DO, WE WILL SIMPLY TALK TO THEM ONCE MORE! THEY AREN'T SO BAD, REALLY," Papyrus declared. "THEY CAN DO BETTER, I KNOW IT!"

Sans wished he could be surprised by the juxtaposition of "has killed us multiple times" and "aren't so bad, really," and how these apparently weren't mutually exclusive traits. But Papyrus believed in everyone, and on some days, made Sans want to believe in everyone, too.

"well, if we're lucky, we won't have to put that to the test."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay; the anxiety was hitting hard with this chapter. I now know better than to give an overly optimistic guess for when I'll finish the next one. But I'm gonna do my best to keep on going.
> 
> Sometimes I post [fic progress updates](https://graveexcitement.tumblr.com/tagged/fic+progress) on my [tumblr](https://graveexcitement.tumblr.com/), when I remember to.


End file.
